‘Angel of Route 66′: How one man brought Seligman and the Mother Road back to life

SELIGMAN, AZ (AZFamily) — Take a drive along the Mother Road and you will come across the small town of Seligman, nestled between Kingman and Williams.

Colorful, quirky gift shops line the historic town, offering visitors a slice of the past and paying homage to Route 66. Thanks to one man’s efforts to preserve the Mother Road and his town, Seligman became the birthplace of Historic Route 66.

The Little Route 66 Gift Shop

Sitting right along Route 66, visitors will find Angel & Vilma Delgadillo’s Original Route 66 Gift Shop — the little Route 66 gift shop with big history! The shop is home to all the Mother Road merch you could want and invites visitors from all over the world to stop in and see what Seligman has to offer.

For over 50 years, the Mother Road brought commerce and a booming economy to the town. However, in the late 1970s after the construction of Interstate 40, livelihood of many mom-and-pop shops disappeared overnight.

Angel Delgadillo and his wife, Vilma, had enough of watching their little town be forgotten. The couple started selling a few pieces of Route 66 memorabilia, unknowingly establishing the first Route 66 gift shop in existence. Their shop was born, and decades later, visitors who drive along Route 66 can stop in and share a little piece of American history.

The Angel of Route 66

Angel Delgadillo is not only the owner of the original Route 66 gift shop, but also known as the “Angel of Route 66,” thanks to his passion and determination of preserving the legacy of the Mother Road. At 99 years old, Delgadillo still preaches his love for Route 66, even being only a year younger than the historic highway!

Delgadillo was born in 1927 on his family home along Route 66. Through the decades, he has seen how America has changed the Mother Road — from the Great Depression, to convoys of military vehicles driving along the highway during World War II, to present day.

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He opened a barber shop in Seligman in 1950, where he and other small businesses enjoyed the traffic the Mother Road brought. But just a few decades later, traffic stopped altogether due to the newly-built I-40, which bypassed Seligman. Angel remembers feeling on that day “the world forgot about us.”

Not willing to let the world pass by, Delgadillo and his wife came up with the idea to bring back Route 66 as a historic highway. Thanks to their dedication and determination, the State of Arizona christened U.S. 66 from Seligman to Kingman as “Historic Route 66”.

Honoring the Mother Road

The town of Seligman will be celebrating the Route 66 centennial on April 30, and residents are inviting visitors to stop in and partake in the festivities. There will be food, live music, a beer garden, dancing and more. Festivities kick off at 9 a.m. sharp, so don’t miss out!

Delgadillo, the Father of Historic Route 66, will receive a proclamation from Yavapai County Supervisor Chris Kuknyo.

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